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Future Ready Libraries:Strategic Trends in Reference
Stephen Abram, MLSan Jose State University SLIS
Online CourseApril 17, 2012
These slides are available at Stephen’s Lighthouse blog
The Final
Change
The Last Cowboys
News Flash “The Internet and technology have now
progressed to their infancy”
Speaking of e-
Books...
Borders Kobo, B&N Nook, Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, Sony, etc. . . .
GBS
Pottermore
Consider the effect of the above and this on reference:
Chapters and Articles Audio and streaming media Subscriptions, rentals, Read It Later becomes Pocket Other ‘real’ bookmarking tools Quora, Virtual Reference Mobile
Can we frame the e-book issue so that it can be addressed rationally?
Books
Fiction
Non-Fiction
E-Learning
Be More Open to the Users’ Paths - Filtering
So how must library strategies change?
Conclusions Up Front
1. Prioritize Programs not Collections2. Drive ‘Reference’ with Data and Know Your Top Questions3. Balance of Physical and Virtual4. Invest Time in Demographics & Analytics (Measurements
not Stats)5. Put Technological Tools in Context6. Build Recreational Reading Away From Effort and Get Real
About the eBook Issue7. Homework: Deal With It8. Transliteracy is a Key Opportunity9. Partnerships are about everything
Specific Challenges
1. Setting Priorities and Making Sacrifices2. Innovation Culture, Pilots and Diffusion3. Program Hiatuses4. Backroom and Front Room Balance5. Alignment with Goals6. Measuring the Right Stuff7. Organizational Structure and Governance8. Investing in HR Development & Cross-training9. Sacred Cows (desks, books, …)10. Promotion, Marketing, Communication, Advocacy
Sensemaking
The BASICS
Data Information Knowledge Wisdom NOT Behavior
Death of Reference
Who What Where When Why How
How & Why Questions
Now that’s research The interview is more involved Transformational not Transactional Expertise counts The position and reputation of the delivery
professional is key Expertise is shared mutually Groups and patterns matter
What is an EXPERIENCE?What is a library experience?
What differentiates a library experience from a transaction?
What differentiates public libraries from Google/Bing?
The Evolution
of Answers
Why do people ask questions?
Is your library experience conceptually organized around answers and programs?
Or collections, technology and buildings?
Why do people ask questions?
Who, What, When, Where How & Why Data – Information – Knowledge - Behavior To Learn or to Know To Acquire Information, Clarify, Tune To Decide, to Solve, to Choose, to Delay To Interview, Delve, Interact, Progress To Entertain or Socialize To Reduce Fear To Help, Aid, Cure, Be a Friend To Win A Bet
What are your top 10-20 questions?What is the service portfolio model
that goes with those?
The Baker’s Dozen: 1 Library System’s Top 13
1. Health and Wellness / Community Health / Nutrition / Diet / Recovery
2. DIY Do It Yourself Activities and Car Repair 3. Genealogy 4. Test prep (SAT, ACT, occupational tests, etc. etc.) 5. Legal Questions (including family law, divorce, adoption, etc) 6. Hobbies, Games and Gardening 7. Local History 8. Consumer reviews (Choosing a car, appliance, etc.) 9. Homework Help (grade school) 10. Technology Skills (software, hardware, web) 11. Government Programs, Services and Taxation 12. Self-help/personal development 13. Careers (jobs, counselling, etc.) 14. Readers Advisory was 14th
Knitting & Needlecrafts
Arts & Crafts
Television Shows
Gardening
Pets
Music
Traveling, Tourism & Vacations
Exercise, Cycling & Walking
Movies & Film
Computers
Cooking & Recipes
Recreational Reading
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Top 12 Patron Hobbies
Top Hobbies?Top Homework Questions?
Top Travel Destinations?What do you know?
News Flash
News Flash
Tech Shift Happens
Deer in headlamps slide here.
What Are Libraries Really For?
• Community• Learning• Discovery• Progress• Research (Applied and Theoretical)• Cultural & Knowledge Custody • Economic Impact
What Are Librarians For?
• Expertise• Relationships• Transformation• Service (not servant)• Vision• Leadership• Economic Impact • Get OK with being an EXPERT and a
PROFESSIONAL
Questions for Libraries Today:
1. Are our priorities right?2. Are learning, research, discovery changing
materially and what is actually changing?3. What is the foundation of future library
success . . . Books? Meh…4. What is the role for librarians in the real
future (that is not an extension of the past)?
Grocery Stores
Grocery Stores
Grocery Stores
Cookbooks, Chefs . . .
Cookbooks, Chefs . . .
Meals
What is a meal in library end-user or education and learning terms?
How do you put your meat in the game?
LibGuides are 1% of the way there.
The new bibliography and
collection development
KNOWLEDGE PORTALS
KNOWLEDGE,LEARNING,
INFORMATION &RESEARCHCOMMONS
What are your user’s real goals?
Chefs, counsellors, teachers, magicians
Librarians play a vital role in building the critical connections between
information , knowledge and learning.
Programs
What are the components of a program focus?
What lifts Libraries beyond our foundations?
Trans-Literacy: Move beyond reading & PC skills Reading literacy Numeracy Critical literacy Social literacy Computer literacy Web literacy Content literacy Written literacy
News literacy Technology literacy Information literacy Media literacy Adaptive literacy Research literacy Academic literacy Reputation, Etc.
Steal This Idea
GOOG
The nasty facts about Google &
Bing and consumer search:
SEO / SMOContent Farms
Advertiser-drivenGeotagging
List of content farms and general spammy user generated content sites:
All Experts (allexperts.com) Answers (answers.com) Answer Bag (answerbag.com) Articles Base (articlesbase.com) Ask (ask.com) Associated Content (associatedcontent.com) BizRate (bizrate.com) Buzle (buzzle.com) Brothersoft (brothersoft.com) Bytes (bytes.com) ChaCha (chacha.com) eFreedom (efreedom.com) eHow (ehow.com) Essortment (essortment.com) Examiner (examiner.com) Expert Village (expertvillage.com) )
Experts Exchange (experts-exchange.com) eZine Articles (ezinearticles.com) Find Articles (findarticles.com) FixYa (fixya.com Helium (helium.com) Hub Pages (hubpages.com) InfoBarrel (infobarrel.com) Livestrong (livestrong.com) Mahalo (mahalo.com) Mail Archive (mail-archive.com) Question Hub (questionhub.com) Squidoo (squidoo.com) Suite101 (suite101.com) Twenga (twenga.com) WiseGeek (wisegeek.com) Wonder How To (wonderhowto.com) Yahoo! Answers (answers.yahoo.com) Xomba (xomba.com)
StrategicAnalytics
What We Never Really Knew Before (US/Canada)
27% of our users are under 18. 59% are female.
29% are college students. 5% are professors and 6% are teachers.
On any given day, 35% of our users are there for the very first time!
Only 29% found the databases via the library website. 59% found what they were looking for on their first search.
72% trusted our content more than Google. But, 81% still use Google.
We often believe a lot
that isn’t true.
2010 Eduventures Research on Investments
58% of instructors believe that technology in courses positively impacts student engagement. 71% of instructors that rated student engagement levels as “high” as a result of using technology in
courses. 71% of students who are employed full-time and 77% of students who are employed part-time
prefer more technology-based tools in the classroom. 79% of instructors and 86 percent of students have seen the average level of engagement improve
over the last year as they have increased their use of digital educational tools. 87% of students believe online libraries and databases have had the most significant impact on
their overall learning. 62% identify blogs, wikis, and other online authoring tools while 59% identify YouTube and
recorded lectures. E-books and e-textbooks impact overall learning among 50% of students surveyed, while 42% of
students identify online portals. 44% of instructors believe that online libraries and databases will have the greatest impact on
student engagement. 32% of instructors identify e-textbooks and 30% identify interactive homework solutions as having
the potential to improve engagement and learning outcomes. (e-readers was 11%) 49% of students believe that online libraries and databases will have the greatest impact on
student engagement. Students are more optimistic about the potential for technology.
What do we need to know?
How do library databases and virtual services compare with other web experiences?
Who are our core virtual users? Are there gaps? Does learning happen? How about discovery? What are user expectations for true satisfaction? How does library search compare to consumer
search like Google and retail or government? How do people find and connect with library virtual
services? Are end users being successful in their POV? Are they happy? Will they come back? Tell a friend?
Emboldened Librarians hold the key
So how must library strategies change?
What does all this mean?
The Article level universe The Chapter and Paragraph Universe Integrated with Visuals – graphics and charts Integrated with ‘video’ Integrated with Sound and Speech Integrated with social web Integrated with interaction and not just
interactivity How would you enhance a book?
What is Changing?
1. Evidence-based Reference Strategies2. Experience-based Portals: The New Commons3. Personal Service on Steroids4. Quality Strategies: Consumer vs. Professional
Search5. Social Networks and Recommendations6. Trans-literacy Strategies7. People-driven Strategies8. Curriculum and Research Agenda9. Service and Programs
Recommendations
Strengthen Your Personal Brand Reposition the Library and Librarian Don’t Tie Yourself directly to Collections or
Physical Space Network with Your Users Socially Measure, Don’t Count Engage in partnerships Know Take Risks
Technology Context
Cloud (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS) Laptops and Tablets Mobility / Smartphones Bandwidth (Wired, WiFi, Whitespace) Learning Management Systems Streaming video and audio vs. download HTML5 and Apps – the battle Advertising auction models and ‘product’ New(ish) Players (Amazon, Apple, G, B&N, Uni’s,
states/provinces/nations)
Book Challenges
Format Agnosticism Browsers: IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari Devices: Macintosh, PC Desktops & Laptops Mobile: Laptops, Tablets (iPad, Fire, etc.) Mobile: Smartphones (iPhone, Blackberry, Android,
Windows, etc.) Container: PDF, ePub, .mobi, Kindle, etc. Learning Management System: Blackboard / WebCT,
D2L, Moodle, Sakai, etc. Purchasing (Amazon, B&N, Chegg, CengageBrain,
Apple Store, University Textbook Store, etc.)
Should we tie users and students to a specific and proprietary device or operating system?
This era will see a Fundamental Reimagining the Book
For the present there will be those who resist and the resisters will be the majority.
Reimagine Service
Reference and Research
Consider the differences . . .
Computer Commons Mall Service Commons Information Commons Knowledge Commons Learning Commons Science Commons Centre or Central? Physical / Virtual Hybrid
Mobility
A 1965 iPhone
My Personal Hobby Horses
This is an evolution not a revolution The REAL revolution was the Internet and the
Web. The hybrid ecology is winning in the near term
for operating systems and content formats. This is good since competition drives
innovation. Engage in critical thinking not raw criticism. Be
constructive. Critical thinking is not part of dogma or
religious fervor or fan boy behavior.
My Personal Hobby Horses This is an evolution not a revolution Perfectionism will not move us forward at this
juncture. Really understand the digital divide and
remove your economic and social class blinkers Get over library obsession with statistics and
comprehensiveness. Get excellent at real measurements, sampling
and understanding impact and satisfaction. (Analytics, Foresee, Pew)
My Personal Hobby Horses This is an evolution not a revolution We need to revisit the concept of
preservation, archives, repositories, and conservation.
Check out new publishing models like Flipboard.
Watch for emerging book enhancements and other features that will challenge library metadata, selection policies, and collection development.
What Would You Attempt If You Knew You Would Not
Fail?
The power of libraries
A Third Path
SmellyYellowLiquid
OrSex
Appeal?
Considering the Whole Experience
Stephen Abram, MLS, FSLAVP strategic partnerships and markets
Cengage Learning (Gale)Cel: 416-669-4855
[email protected]’s Lighthouse Blog
http://stephenslighthouse.comFacebook, Pinterest: Stephen Abram
LinkedIn / Plaxo: Stephen AbramTwitter: @sabram
SlideShare: StephenAbram1
